Psalm 145:4–7 is a beautiful Scriptural summary of our responsibility as parents.
One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
As parents, we do many things for our children. We feed, clothe, shelter, and nurture them. We provide for them, guide them, and prepare them for adulthood.
But out of all the things we do as parents, one of the greatest and most important things we must do is show our children the glory of God.
This article has been written with caution and with the acknowledgement that there are things only God knows: the age of accountability of every child is one of them.
What do we mean by the age of accountability? In essence, it is the age at which a child becomes accountable to God and answerable to Him for his or her sin – Matthew 12:36.
We may draw conclusions from the Bible and, based on those, come to some understanding of the factors that come into play, but there are no absolutes to indicate at which point during the formative years of a child the transition to spiritual accountability takes place.
The concept of the age of accountability is based on the belief that a young child is covered by God’s grace until he becomes spiritually aware that he is defying or resisting God, as stated in Romans 8:7.
This means that children will not be judged for their sin until they reach an age where their conscience has developed to the extent that they have a conviction of being sinful. Children get to know right from wrong by being taught (trained). Consequently, they start to understand the difference between being obedient and disobedient—being good or naughty. But that understanding is different from being aware that they are sinful and spiritually separated from God. A general sense of guilt and conviction of sin only starts to develop in the pre-adolescent years.
7 Ways to Teach Your Children to Give Cheerfully
- Model a thankful heart. Express aloud your thankfulness for God’s provision of your family’s daily needs.
- Explain what the Bible teaches about tithing, and show children how they can figure their own tithe. Let them see you tithing cheerfully.
- Explain that we are the managers, not the owners, of all the resources God has placed in our care. Model good stewardship for them as your family decides how to spend money.
- Explain how money is used when it is given to the church. If you have older children and teens, discuss the church budget with them.
- Introduce your children to the ministry personnel of your church and to missionaries who visit in your church and discuss how tithes help them do God’s work.
- Participate in ministry and missions opportunities as a family so your children can see their tithes at work.
- When God provides for your family in unexpected ways in times of crisis, call attention to His faithfulness by having a special time of prayer and thanksgiving.
